Hayden returns with a bang in 2007, and Amarnath's 1983 meltdown

That Sachin Tendulkar holds the record for the most one-day runs in a year should surprise no one. He's been around for 18 years now but his best is easily 1998, the year that he savaged the Australians for 621 of his 1894 runs at an average of nearly 89. And it shouldn't surprise you that the top six spots for most runs in a year are occupied by Asians - Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Saeed Anwar - given the amount of one-day cricket the subcontinent plays compared to everyone else. But in 2007, Tendulkar's record might be under threat, and it's not from an Asian.

Matthew Hayden has already muscled his way to becoming the fastest - in terms of days lapsed - to reach 1000 runs in a year. He reached the landmark during his unbeaten 47 against Bangladesh in the World Cup on March 31, nearly two months quicker than Rahul Dravid in 1999. It's a remarkable feat considering that he's reached it in only 18 matches. David Gower did it in 17 in 1983 while Tendulkar took 19 in 1998 and 1996.

Hayden has 1042 runs so far in 2007. If Australia go all the way in the World Cup, he will have five more games plus eight months left in the year to sprint towards Tendulkar. According to current schedules, in that time Australia will have ten ODIs scheduled against India, and - politics allowing - three against Zimbabwe. And all this after he spent the best part of 19 months out of the one-day team before making a comeback for the CB series in January 2007.

Click here for the fastest bowlers to 50 ODI wickets in a year.

David Gower is the only batsman from the 1980s among the first 30 entries in our table. In an era without the fat-bats, flat pitches and fielding restrictions, it's an astonishing achievement. Gower - the quickest to 1000 in a year in terms of matches played - began 1983 with 563 runs in the Benson and Hedges World Series and finished the year as top-scorer in the World Cup with 384 runs at an average of just under 77. Hayden already has 436 in the 2007 edition.

Dravid is the only batsman who features in the top ten of both one-day and Test tables. Dravid reached 1000 runs in May, mid-way through the 1999 World Cup, in which he was the top-scorer with 461 runs in eight innings. Dravid finished 1999 with 1761 runs but was beaten by Ganguly who ended up with 1767 runs. Dravid was quick to reach 1000 Test runs in June 2006 - third in the table - with successful series in Pakistan and West Indies. However, he finished the year with a poor series in South Africa.

Would Mohinder Amarnath even be among your guesses for the fastest batsman to reach 1000 Test runs in a year? He raced to the landmark by the end of April in 1983, Viv Richards in 1976 is in second place. Amarnath scored two hundreds and three fifties against Pakistan at the start of the year and then had an immensely successful tour of West Indies during which he ran up scores of 28, 40, 58, 117, 13, 91, 80, 54 and 116. He then led India to World Cup glory by winning Man-of-the-Match awards in the semi-final and final, also against West Indies. It all came crashing down during the home series when the same team he flogged from Jamaica to Antigua came back with a vengeance and nailed him for 0,0,1,0,0,0 in three Tests.

Click here for the fastest bowlers to 50 Test wickets in a year.

Bradman, who is usually the answer to most questions concerning Test runs, has taken the least matches to reach 1000 runs in a year. He did it in just seven matches in 1948, his last year on the Test circuit. Since then three other batsmen have also racked up 1000 in seven matches; Garry Sobers in 1958, Graham Gooch in 1990, nearly half of those in the Lord's Test against India, and Ricky Ponting in 2006.